As a general rule, researchers find that individualism in a country strongly predicts the average level of well-being, even when correcting for life expectancy, access to food and water, and other variables. Scholars offer two main explanations. The first is that in individualistic cultures, people spend time and effort pursuing personal happiness over honor and social obligations. This view assumes that working for happiness ultimately leads to greater well-being, which the research supports. Some researchers have even argued that positive psychology, which is based on the belief that your happiness is important, worthy of study, and at least partly under your control, is at the core of an individualistic worldview. The second explanation is that individualism is associated with “open societies,” which have a high degree of freedom of expression and self-actualization. This, in turn, fosters tolerance, trust, and civic engagement while minimizing outside pressure on how one must live. In an open society, people make most of their own decisions about their profession, education, marital status, geography, religion, etc.—ideally in a way that is consistent with their well-being. Crucially, these happiness benefits require that individualists live in individualistic societies; in more collectivist cultures, a different pattern tends to emerge. Research has shown, for example, that in the relatively collectivistic Japan and Portugal, students and workers who have individualistic values tend to suffer lower well-being than the national average. Individualists are misfits in a collectivist setting and, as the research shows, struggle to find camaraderie, which is central to happiness.